Eagle Ford may be to blame for area bus driver shortages

The 15.6-mile-long FM 469 in La Salle County is one of the roads in the Eagle Ford Shale region that would return to gravel under plans from the Texas Department of Transportation, which says it cannot afford to repave roads damaged by heavy oil field trucks.

Photo By Courtesy photo / Marathon Oil Corp.

Drilling operations in the Eagle Ford — this one is a Marathon Oil site.

Photo By Copano Energy

Kinder Morgan plans to spend $10.6 billion on infrastructure, including work in the Eagle Ford Shale.

Increasing truck traffic is one of the big topics of discussion in the Eagle ford Shale region. (Tom Reel/Express-News)

Photo By courtesy photo/EOG Resources

This drilling rig is working in the South Texas Eagle Ford where, as the largest crude oil producer in the play.

An Eagle Ford rig, with additional drilling pads and a water pit, are visible near Kenedy.

Across San Antonio, school districts are looking for bus drivers. These same drivers might be looking to Eagle Ford for better pay, leaving area students stuck with fewer buses and longer routes.

San Antonio ISD, South San ISD, Southside ISD, Southwest ISD, Edgewood ISD and East Central ISD are still short about two dozen drivers nearly a month into the school year, according to district officials. As the shale boom continues to produce demand for workers with commercial driver's licenses, local trucking school director Noel Smith thinks the shortage is no coincidence.

“We're talking double or triple the income of a bus driver for work down at Eagle Ford,” noted Smith, who said trucking can bring a driver a $50,000 to $70,000 salary. “For those with a CDL, the choice (between trucking and busing) is more of a money thing.”

While Smith didn't have an estimate for San Antonio's overall CDL output, he said that his program, SAGE driving school at St. Philips College near China Grove, serves about 190 students a year, with about 10 of those being converted bus drivers. SAGE is one of at least five such schools listed throughout San Antonio, Smith said.

“We're just finding there's better work at Eagle Ford,” he explained.

While the number of bus driving spots open at each district ranges from about three to seven, the time each district has spent fruitlessly trying to fill them can indicate how dry the pool has become, according to some transportation officials.

“At this point, if you've got a heartbeat and a CDL, we'll take you,” said David Bogio, transportation director for Southwest ISD. “This summer, we picked up five drivers but lost ten to career changes — and on top of that, our district grew by several hundred kids this year.”

East Central ISD, which had to consolidate some middle and high school routes this year due to the shortage of drivers, has also been working on the problem for months with limited success. Glenn Arismendez, the district bus garage manager, said he was still working to vet several candidates.

“We've got to keep our own pipeline, so to speak, filled with applicants to make sure we have subs to cover when people leave or get sick,” he explained. “Still, it's never been this hard. We even have parents stepping up to drive — at least we know they aren't going to leave for (shale) jobs.”

Rick Mejia, an East central High School parent, said due to the longer routes that come with consolidation, his son gets picked up at 6:50 a.m. and dropped off at 7:15 p.m.

“It's never been this bad,” he said. “The kids are crowded.”

Blas Rodriguez is a local driving instructor for both truckers and bus drivers. He's driven 18-wheelers since he was 14 in 1974 and doubles as a bus driver for Judson ISD on weekdays.

“It's easy for bus drivers to make the switch to trucking,” said Rodriguez, noting that this year he trained two drivers from his district who left busing for more lucrative Eagle Ford options. “It only takes a month and a half to get your CDL, and from there it's just getting road experience.”

Rodriguez likens the shale boom's trucking impact to a domino effect.

“You have guys who would normally be doing commercial trucking in the city leaving for Eagle Ford, bus drivers leaving for the open spots, and no one left over for the buses,” he explained.

Smith said there are disadvantages to trucking.

“There's more money there, but that's a lot of overtime,” he explained. “That's six days in the woods, no coming back home.”

“Trucking isn't always all it's cracked up to be,” he added.

Despite the busing shortage, Rodriguez said he wouldn't be surprised if the shale boom's draw on CDL operators decreases as older drivers grow weary of the long hours.

“I know some guys who want a break, who end up going back to busing,” he said. “But it's not many.”